The railroad trestle in Rosendale, shown here in a panoramic view made from multiple photos, could become a recreational attraction.

Group plans walkway for Rosendale train trestle

By BY JEREMIAH HORRIGAN

Times Herald-Record

August 04, 2012 - 2:00 AM

ROSENDALE — It's tempting to call it "The Walkway Over the Rondout" or maybe "Walkway Junior." But Christine DeBoer asks that you don't. The steel railroad trestle that DeBoer's group is reclaiming from a storied past will have, she promises, its own unique flavor.

DeBoer is executive director of the Wallkill Valley Land Trust, the nonprofit group that, in partnership with the Open Space Institute, purchased the Rosendale Trestle Bridge and 11.5 miles of old railbed at a county tax auction in 2009. The group has been at work ever since, transforming what was once a major supply route for Ulster and Orange counties into a modern-day recreational attraction.

The Wallkill Valley Railroad was founded a year after the end of the Civil War; during the next century, it became a lifeline for commuters who worked in Kingston's various needle trades making dresses and sportswear.

Every morning, a freight train carrying lumber and cement, eggs and milk, visited all the stops. The railroad's most lucrative business was hauling anthracite coal from Pennsylvania to upstate communities. Those days came to an end well before 1977, when Conrail took over the line, only to abandon it in later years.

The idea now is to link the 24 miles of the old Wallkill Valley Railroad that pass through the towns of Ulster, Rosendale, New Paltz and Gardiner into a contiguous rail trail.

Much of that trail already exists; people walk and bike along it. But from DeBoer's perspective, the effort to officially complete the 24-mile span is a work in progress. The trust still faces some ownership hurdles further down the northern section of the line, which DeBoer thinks can be resolved by next year.

In the meantime, DeBoer is hoping the trestle project will officially open by the end of this year. When that happens, anyone who's ever stood on the trestle will tell you it will be the rail trail's centerpiece.

The land trust has already raised $1 million in grants and donations toward the final $1.2 million needed to complete the trestle project. The money is paying for rebuilding the trestle's decking. Wherever possible, the trestle's existing ties are being re-used, DeBoer said. Sturdy metal railings are being welded to the trestle's superstructure.

Kingston's days as a business center of the needle trade may be gone; the milk train doesn't stop there anymore.

But if DeBoer's plans come to fruition, the Rosendale Trestle Bridge will begin a new life in a new century, providing a very 21st century sort of service.